O'Keefe Residence -- perspective sketch

Sketch for O'Keefe Residence, 1937.
Uploaded by Andrew Raimist.

A sketch by architect Harris Armstrong for a house to be constructed in Moberly, Missouri. The design dates from 1937. It may have been constructed, but in a modified form. The only record of the house are some sketches for its design, but no photographs or articles document it's construction.

This drawing reveals a number of characteristics of Armstrong's designs. While it clearly shows his inspiration by the International Style modern architecture of Europe, the concept for the house is not a pure geometrical form. Although rendered in white stucco, having flat roof, glass blocks, corner windows, and other features typical of this design approach, the manner in which he incorporates landscape and gardens into the basic idea for the house.

In this way, the O'Keefe Residence follows the precedents set by several of his earlier built works: the Shanley Building (1935) , Cori Residence (1935), and Deffaa Residence (1937). In each case, white surfaces (either painted brick or stucco) were used as a foil for plantings which were selected and positioned as integral to the design.